Booze control gets stricter in downtown Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS – People strolling through downtown Las Vegas' Fremont Street Experience will no longer be able to sip from aluminum cans or glass bottles.

A Las Vegas City Council ordinance taking effect Sunday aims to push visitors to buy more expensive drinks at the casinos and restaurants along the pedestrian mall instead of getting drunk fast on cheap alcohol from convenience stores. Violators could be fined up to $500.

The rule is the council's latest effort to clean up the Experience, which is flanked by some of the city's oldest casinos. Two people were wounded in a shooting last summer at the attraction, and the area is prone to alcohol-fueled fights.

City officials recently announced greater police presence and said they'll enforce a no-touching rule to prevent street performers from hassling tourists.